The Secrets Of Serpents & Lions
by f.forest
Summary: Everybody has their secrets. No matter how innocent or perfect someone may seem, deep down everyone has something that they are longing to hide. One proven fact is that eventually… everything comes out in the open... please R&R!


**The Secrets Of Serpents & Lions  
**

A story of lies, longing, loyalty, lust and love. 

**Disclaimer:** Although I truly wish I was, I am most definitely not JK Rowling and to my dismay… (Especially in Draco Malfoy's case) I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

**A/N:** Thanks for clicking onto my fanfiction! Be sure to review and let me know what you think! Enjoy!

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**Chapter One**

**Everybody has their secrets. No matter how innocent or perfect someone may seem, deep down everyone has something that they are longing to hide. One proven fact is that eventually… everything comes out in the open leading to both good and bad consequences. No matter how hard people try to prevent it, secrets are there to be discovered, shared or stumbled on.**

Pansy Parkinson sighed to herself as she opened her designer handbag picked out two painkillers from the assortment of pills and threw them into her mouth followed by a gulp of ice-cold water in an attempt to stop the pounding in her head.

She stood there, mind spinning, in nothing but her black underwear which clung to her freezing body. Her trade-mark long raven hair was dishevelled like a horse's mane after galloping through a branchy forest in a crisp autumn wind.

She reluctantly looked at herself in the tiny bathroom mirror of the cold and unfamiliar surroundings of the hotel room, running her forefinger down her nose and across the left check of her usually porcelain skin her nose wrinkling up at the feeling of lumps and bumps- a sensation she was certainly not used to. As her finger traced her collarbone, she stopped suddenly and turned as someone stirred in the queen sized bed in the room behind her. Nothing but darkness faced her.

The constant drip drop of the giant taps in the marble bath jeered at her, breaking the silent but tension filled early Sunday morning. Any recognition of the previous night and the male who she had shared a bed with had escaped her memory and she knew the reason why. Another night of drinking her troubles away with alcohol and throwing back whatever pills she could find.

Since Pansy had found Draco Malfoy the love of her life was cheating on her with another girl, her whole world had crashed to the ground around her. Her life totally revolved around Draco.

She prided herself by being on the arm of the gorgeous Slytherin, together they formed one of (if not THE best) looking couples in Hogwarts. With their striking appearances, their intelligence and their aristocracy, Pansy & Draco were envied by all and they both loved it.

Pansy was notorious for being a scum-sucking, cold-hearted bitch but in reality she was like any other 17 year old girl - incredibly insecure and inside she hated herself for the persona she had to put on day in day out. She was a teenage beauty queen, a fallen angel. Her whole childhood had been spent being a total sweetheart with a heart as big as Venus with a heart-stopping smile and adorable dimples who was loved by all and was friends with everyone. She had no idea of the hardship and torture she was going to face when she left her parents at Kings Cross Station and boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time.

When she was sorted into Slytherin (even though her parents had expected Ravenclaw) she fell in with the wrong crowd and was swallowed into a world of anger, cat fights and hatred. Since her first year at Hogwarts at the tender age of 11, she was forced to saunter around the castle as if she owned it and to plaster a sneer on her face while remaining loyal to all of her fellow Slytherins by showing the rest of the school who was boss. If she didn't there'd be hell to pay.

Slytherins were like a big family. An attack on one member was like an attack on them all, no-one went against each other either from the inside or outside unless they were looking for an early death. Each and every one of them was part of a patriotic circle and was proud of their roots and relished in the company of their fellow aristocratic purebloods. Pansy has fallen head-first into this world, viewing it all through her then innocent sapphire eyes. Then she discovered Draco Malfoy.

She saw him for the first time and everything went into slow motion. When he looked at her, her cheeks went scarlet and she felt her heart racing in her chest. When he smiled at her, her knees buckled and she felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world. Everything around her disappeared. It was just her and him. There was sunsets, fireworks, orchestras... everything.

So she focused all her attention on Draco in an attempt to shield away the rest of the Slytherins. When she was around him she felt somewhat whole and was able to tune out the rest of the world. As a result the rest of Hogwarts rolled their eyes at her obvious flirting and her mischievous antics towards him. She didn't care, it took her mind off everything else and he was definitely incredibly gorgeous, so what was the problem? The way she saw it the rest of the school was going to hate her anyway; she might as well have her fun.

While Draco wasn't always the perfect gentleman in public and a lot of the time didn't give Pansy the respect she deserved, anyone could see the glances full of something deeper than lust he threw in her direction and the way he held her hand. She returned his affections and always had a smile on her face when they kissed.

The leggy raven and muscular blond shared many tender moments and it always seemed inevitable they'd end up together and live happily ever after and deep down Pansy had believed it. It would be worth all the cheap shots other girls threw at her, the way other guys eyed her like she was meat and the many many times her and Draco fought. That is until Draco threw it all away… taking her heart with it.

_Pansy was speechless and her stomach plummeted to the ground when the look on his face blatantly showed it wasnt the first time. She couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes. She had devoted her life to this guy and he had thrown all that she had done for him back in her face for some cheap skankt. _

_She felt her breath catch in her throat as she left out a shrill gasp and turned away from the heart-breaking sight of her boyfriend on the bed they shared with some other girl, the sounds of pleasure erupting to screams. _

_She slammed the door as hard as she could hearing them both stop suddenly in shock and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She couldn't take it anymore. She kept running still in a state of shock rivers and streams of tears blurring her vision and streaming down her delicate and heart-broken face. Her eyes became a shocking shade of electric blue and her heart felt in such pain all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry.  
_

_Slowly, everything was coming clear, all the times Draco had been 'on holiday' and 'studying' in the library, the times his 'cousins' had answered his phone, the time when he called her 'Lavender' in bed, when he would eye pretty girls up and down approvingly and then run off pretending to have forgotten something in the common room and returning looking extremely satisfied with himself. She had casted all this aside as she was deeply in love with him but now everything was coming back to her. _

_That prick was going to pay and revenge was a dish best served cold. How could he confess his undying love for her and then turn around and do all this? How could she be so stupid? Why did she allow her heart to be torn out and stamped upon? _

_She needed to get away, she needed to think things through, needed to be as far away from him as she could. She needed Blaise. He always knew what to do...  
_

That had been five weeks ago yet it was all still fresh in her mind. Draco had sent hundreds of owls to her penthouse apartment in London but she refused to read any of them, it was still too much. She had booked herself into a five star luxurious hotel and spa for the weekend before returning to her final year at Hogwarts in an attempt to rejuvenate and prepare herself to see Draco again. In an attempt to lift her spirits she had gone out on the town to a bar one of the beauticians in the spa has recommended… and look where that got her. She didn't recognise the cheap logo on the towels in the bathroom and realised she was no longer in her five star spa. 'Time to leave Pansy…' she muttered to herself.

She tiptoed into the bedroom shuffled around for her black cocktail dress and stilettos, picked them up and shuffled into them. The guy in the bed was lying on his side and had floppy mahogany hair, sexy stubble, very kissable lips and a great body. 'Well at least he was cute' she said out loud to no-one in particular glad she hadn't done things with someone she'd really regret.

There was something really familiar about this guy but she couldn't put her finger on it. She carefully opened the door, rushed through the never ending corridors, pushed open the big brass doors of the hotel with her right shoulder, shivering in the cold of the early morning. The sun was just starting to rise and she could just make out the cresent moon just fading away. '_Like my relationship with Drake..._' she thought to herself.

She made her way towards her suite on the top floor a crestfallen expression on her face secretly disgusted at herself for living up to her name. She was no better than her boyfriend. Yet she had never ever cheated on him while they were TOGETHER.

Shit, she'd be leaving to catch the Hogwarts Express in less than 36 hours. Which meant facing _him_. One thing's for sure, she was going to show him exactly what he was missing. A medi, pedi and steam facial before hitting the sauna was exactly what she needed right now.

* * *

"Come on Ginny! Get up for Christ's sake!" Ron shouted into his redheaded sister's ear, who looked to have no intention of getting up at all, shaking her body roughly clearly getting frustrated. "If you don't get up in five seconds, we're leaving without you." He started, "5…4…3…" 

"ALRIGHT, alright, alright" Ginny moaned, rolling over in her bed only to land on the cold, hard floorboards with a thud. "Owww" She exclaimed, rubbing her shapely backside in annoyance.

Harry and Hermione stood at the door watching the scene in amusement, both covering their mouths in an attempt to muffle their obvious laughter. Ginny turned to see Harry smirking with an eyebrow cocked, amused at the bewildered look on her face.

Embarrassed that he had seen her in such a situation, Ginny felt the heat rise in her cheeks and let out a 'Prmmmph' before dashing towards the shower.

"'Bout fricken time…" Ron smirked leading his two friends out of his sister's little cubby hole of a bedroom, which was covered in 'Weird Sister' memorabilia.

What seemed like two minutes later Ginny came running down the dilapidated spiral staircase in the Burrow looking bright and bushy-tailed, her unique, sleek red hair resting elegantly on her shoulders and a dash of make-up on her delicate features. Harry couldn't help but eye his best friend's little sister up and down, in the nicest possible way… obviously happy with what he saw.

Her eyes were stunning, emerald 'pools in which images should be grand and classical'. Ginny had really grown up over the summer, developing flattering curves and really became a young woman, gaining even more confidence.

She was the kind of girl guys lusted after for being so easy to be around and incredibly good humoured. She was into none of the sultry, mysterious crap. With her, what you saw is what you got.

Her smile, in Harry's opinion, was just traffic-stopping. She had ordered a teeth whitening and straightening kit on discount from the Daily Prophet supplement 'Which Witch' and since then her smile resembled that of a movie star.

Harry and Hermione had only arrived the previous night after a camping trip in New Zealand (Ron had returned home just after two days due to the abundance of spiders) so this was the first time Harry had set eyes upon the beauty all summer.

Ginny coped Harry staring at her from the corner of her eye and felt a slight smirk appear. 'This is going to be an interesting year…' she thought to herself.

She had always had a thing for Harry, since she first saw him and Ron and her other brothers off on the first day of Hogwarts 7 years ago. She knew nothing would probably ever come of it but she had spent memorable afternoons outside the Burrow dipping her feet in the river a couple of miles from the house and daydreaming of what could've been, what could be...

_Ginny laughed like she never laughed before as Harry chased her through the flowery meadows on a gorgeous August afternoon, her red hair flying out behind her. She felt so in love, so content, so warm and so unbelievably happy. She fell backwards into the soft grass and laughed some more her sides aching.  
_

_When Harry finally caught up with her, he himself was laughing his emerald eyes dancing with delight. They were so in love. All she wanted is for this moment to last forever. The laughter finally died down and Harry started walking closer to the spot where she lay in the grass.  
_

_He slowly lowered himself on top of her, propping himself up with his elbows.  
_

_"I love you so much Gin' he breathed, just inches from her face. He scanned her features with a smile on his face and kissed her on the forehead, then on the tip of her nose and moved slowly down to her lips as Ginny whispered 'I love you too Harry, never leave me.'  
_

_He lingered for a couple of seconds but Ginny wanted him so much she threw her arms around him and pulled him right down on top of her. She felt the intensity of his kiss right down to her toes and couldnt help but smile and feel like she was the luckiest girl in the world. 'Ginny, will you m-----_

'---ove out of my way?' Ron shouted, interrupting Ginny's daydream.

'Ugh, Ron. Whatever.' She exclaimed, purposely avoiding Harry's obvious gaze. 'Snap out of it in Gin, Snap out of it...' she thought to herself. It's. Not. Going. To. Happen. She needed to get over this obsession, and she needed to get over it FAST. She'd get a boyfriend no problem, she just needed a little piece on the side to take her mind off of Harry. Although, she knew deep down she'd never be able to truly get him out of her head. He occupied about 70 of her thoughts right now and she couldnt help where her sometimes perverted mind drifted to in those long History of Magic classes...

As they made their way downstairs, Hermione noticed Harry's coy glances at virtually her only female friend outside Hogwarts and allowed a smile to creep onto her face. Harry had had it really rough after his humiliating break-up with Cho Chang. After that mishap, he had vowed to never even touch a female for as long as he lived. She had messed him up really bad. Naturally, that was said in the heat of the moment and never happened… not that Hermione would know or anything.

She felt so proud of him and all he had gone through. They had shared some very memorable moments in New Zealand and had stayed up until very late numerous nights dicussing how different life would be when they finished their final year at Hogwarts, where they'd like to be in 10 years and what they wanted out of life.

They made each other laugh until they cried and just looking at Harry, Hermione knew their friendship would stand the test of time.

The foursome dashed to the front door each grabbing a slice or two or four of the mountain of toast Ms. Weasley had prepared to reach the assigned port-key to King's Cross Station in time, each slightly struggling with their many suitcases and owl cages.

A port-key was their only option of transportation that morning as Ginny was not yet of age to apparate and Harry and Hermione had fully stood up for her protests of the other three apparating and leaving her to travel to Kings Cross by herself much to Ron's dismay.

'Ready to go home?' Harry smirked as he grabbed the enchanted old watering can, grinning at his three friends. The girls exchanged excited glances and nodded while Ron wore a confused but utterly adorable expression as he grabbed onto the port-key exclaiming 'But I am ho… AHHHHH!' and everything went a blur… as they departed The Burrow… to depart Platform 9 and 3/4's… to depart the Hogwarts Express… to depart the thestral-driven carriages to arrive at what a lot of students considered as good as home… Hogwarts!

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**A/N**: Okay so there's chapter one! **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE** review! Thanks and I hope you enjoyed it! xXx 


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